Why does the pregnancy last 9 months?

in #medicine6 years ago

Hello! Have you ever wondered why an elephant's pregnancy lasts 20 month, a chimpanzee has 7 months, and a woman has 9 months? And a newborn child can not stand, walk and independently eat?



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Energy maintenance of pregnancy

During pregnancy in a woman, the changes occur about the same as after transplantation of all organs. First of all, it concerns the circulatory system, because a pregnant woman forms the third circle of blood circulation, called placenta. The fetus that grows in the belly of a woman needs a lot of energy, it consumes a lot of oxygen. Therefore, obstetrician recommend to move more, to saturate their blood and baby's blood with oxygen.The baby grows continuously, and he needs more and more nutrients and energy. Formation of bones, the cardiovascular system, the nervous system and other internal organs is a very sensitive process and any negative factor (teratogenic factor) can cause a maldevelopment of the organ or congenital anomalies. pics

At the end of the 6th month, the laying of the fetal organs ends and the preparation of the baby's organs for extrauterine life begins. By this time, the compensatory energy processes in the mother's body are beginning to be depleted. The weight of the child is about 600 grams. The child actively moves, moves handles and legs.

The future mother begins to feel tired. She is more difficult to walk, some women have edema. Increases appetite and is very difficult to eat, as usual. This is due to the fact that the pancreas of the child begins to produce insulin, which cleaves glucose in the mother's blood two times faster.

Metabolism of a woman is accelerated by 2-2.5 times and such a power consumption a person can withstand a short time. Namely - such a time that the baby's brain has acquired all the necessary furrows, the surfactant began to be produced in the lungs, and the epithelium began to function in the intestine.

By 35-40 weeks of gestation, energy deficiency becomes noticeable. The placental circulatory has a shelf life of exactly 40 weeks, and at the end of pregnancy it works worse.

The dimensions of the fetus reach those values that are provided by nature for the normal passage through the female birth canal. This particularly concerns the size of the fetal head.

Since the person became straight-legged, the volume of the female pelvis has greatly decreased, so nature laid the specific physiological parameters of the fetal head in such a way that the birth did not kill the woman. What exactly triggers the birth process is not yet known, but scientists agree that the process is based on energy deficiency. pics

The need for a balance between saving a woman's life and health and the ability of the fetus to survive has led to the woman's pregnancy lasting 40 weeks.

Why is a child born so weak and helpless?

Anthropologists have proved that the birth of a weak and helpless child in ancient people was necessary to accelerate the development of the brain and the evolution of the nervous system in higher primates. Care for the offspring is an important factor for the development of creative, communicative skills. Ancient people sought to improve the lives of their children. They learned to build bonfires, cook meat, draw, sing and much more.


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Thank you for clear information, based on science! I experience a lack of medicine knowledges, so I follow you)

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